Sun Nov 5, 1:58 PM ET
The White House welcomed the guilty verdict against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, saying it validated US policy in Iraq ahead of this week's pivotal US legislative elections.
"You now have absolute proof that you've got an independent judiciary in Iraq," White House spokesman Tony Snow told NBC television.
President George W. Bush's administration, which has endured a stream of bad news from Iraq, seized on the verdict as a hopeful sign of progress before Tuesday's midterm elections that have been dominated by the unpopular war.
Snow also rejected any speculation that the administration had influenced the timing of the trial verdict in Baghdad to boost Bush's Republicans in the election.
"I mean, the idea is preposterous," Snow told CNN's "Late Edition," denying that the White House had been "scheming and plotting."
"The Iraqis are the ones who conducted the trial. The Iraqi judges are the ones who spent all the time poring over the evidence from July 27th to the present," Snow said.
"It's important to give them credit for running their own government," he added.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih also dismissed any US role in the timing of the trial judgment, using the same language as the White House spokesman.
"I think it's preposterous," Salih said in an interview with CNN. He said the "judicial process here has proven to be professional."
The White House cited the trial as evidence that Iraq was on road to building a viable democracy and sought to portray opposition Democrats as lacking the will to win in Iraq.
"Part of developing Iraq to sustain itself and govern itself is to have an independent and reliable judiciary that conducts its business fairly and openly. That's exactly what's going on," said Snow on NBC from the site of Bush's Texas retreat.
"If you want the broader context, you also have to understand that the people of Iraq themselves are devoted and dedicated to the business of building a democracy," the spokesman added.
While praising the verdict, opposition Democrats said the trial would not shape the outcome of Tuesday's pivotal US midterm elections.
"Saddam Hussein is a war criminal, and he's getting what he deserves. But I don't think it has any impact on the safety of America," Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic party, told ABC's "This Week."
Dean said invading Iraq was a "mistake" and that Bush's team had ignored the advice of the US military in the war effort.
In 2004, the capture of Saddam by US forces gave Bush a brief boost in the polls. But escalating violence soon overshadowed Saddam's detention.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed the judgment in Iraq as a product of "impartial deliberations" and a triumph of the rule of law.
"Today's decision is a hopeful reminder to all Iraqis that the rule of law can triumph over the rule of fear and that the peaceful pursuit of justice is preferable to the pursuit of vengeance," Rice said in a statement.
The top US diplomat added that those convicted had "the right to appeal."
Snow said that the verdict also underscores the difference between the president's governing Republicans and opposition Democrats, many of whom have called for a phased US troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Amid a hard-fought campaign in which Democrats are hoping to take control of at least one house of Congress, Republicans have painted the opposition party's readiness to withdraw troops as a sign of softness in the "war on terror."
"Just because it's hard doesn't mean you don't finish the job," Snow told NBC.
"You need to ask yourself, should the United States and will the United States finish the job?" he added.
Democrats, said Snow, "are not going to tell you how they're going to win in Iraq."
If the United States is defeated in Iraq, extremists would have access to the country's oil wealth and "use that as a weapon against the United States, Asia and Europe," Snow said.